Transpire
by ALbf17
Summary: CW's Elena's death has left Damon senseless. But when he stumbles into a town, also called Mystic Falls, he runs into a blonde-haired beauty of the same name and aura. Will Damon fall for this Elena, eyes the colour of the lapis lazuli, and allow himself to be a victim of the weakness this human love offers? And will trouble for once, not follow him and ruin his new-found bliss?
1. Chapter 1

**- TRANSPIRE-**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of L.J. Smith's characters, as well as CW's.

* * *

DAMON SALVATORE

It was amazing how being an immortal, a supernatural being, capable of what humans dreamed of for centuries, Damon felt weaker than any mortal on this planet. Staring back at him were his intense blue eyes, surrounded by wet eyelashes. The sclera of his eyes was now red, making the blue stand out more than ever.

He put the piece of the shattered mirror back down on the floor and rubbed his swollen eyes.

As a human, he had enjoyed whatever life had to offer him. As a vampire, he had sought a reason for his immortal existence. A reason to live.

However, that reason died two years ago, leaving him a broken mess on the floor. Had he been himself, he would've drowned the pain away with a few drinks. But he wanted to feel every single iota of the pain of losing Elena. Maybe he'd be so numb from hurting that he'd never feel a single emotion again.

Stefan, the one person Damon had expected to stay back and lament over their greatest loss, had disappeared. And the others? Damon couldn't care less. They were able to get on with their petty human lives. Go to school. Graduate. Work. Marry and grow old.

"Why Elena?" Damon wanted to know. He wanted to know why God was punishing him like that. For being damned creature?

He'd spent his days hurting, but it suddenly hit him that he was no longer able to stay here. Damon wouldn't be able to escape the pain, but being around where Elena's essence still lingered from the last time she was here, was torturous.

Weak as he was, Damon finally managed to stand up and stagger towards the door.

Without even looking back at the Salvatore mansion at least one last time, Damon starting walking straight ahead with no specific destination. He was too weak and hungry to think clearly anyways.

* * *

ELENA GILBERT

Breaking up with Matt wasn't easy. There was a lot to consider, which she wished she had done before agreeing to date him. Like the facts that she'd be seeing him in school every day, their potentially wrecked friendship, and that they lived in the same small town.

Sighing, Elena smoothed her already smooth, blonde hair for the tenth time.

"I need to stop being so immature." Talking to herself wasn't really the first step to improve herself, characteristically, but saying it out loud made her intention seem more official to her.

In her past sophomore year, she had made nothing but mistakes. Back then though, she didn't think of them like that.

But now that she had to face the consequences of her boy-freakishness, like Tyler's obsessive behaviour, Matt's feelings that she hurt, and what she had done that had ended her friendship to Caroline, she knew better.

"I won't be that girl anymore. I won't be the loose flirt anymore. I'm a senior now. Composed, popular and mature."

And with that, she felt ready to leave for school. Her aunt had already left, and her little sister was dropped off at school already, which meant that Elena was late on her first day of school of her senior year. _Great._

But she didn't feel like going to school just yet. The cool, yet sunny morning filled her heart with hope and longing. It yearned to be filled with something more than a crush.

On her way to school, Elena tried to think of different ways to fix the problems she had caused herself, biting her dry lips furiously.

She stopped to search her purse for a lip gloss, unaware of the dark figure passing by her until he slightly bumped her shoulder with his.

"Hey!" She called out, flustered at the person's rudeness.

The man dressed in black, from his shoes to his leather jacket, turned slowly, almost menacingly. "I apologize." And bowed to her slightly, not to mention mockingly.

"Some apology," muttered Elena to pick up her lip gloss that she had dropped. When she stood up, she saw that he hadn't moved an inch.

His eyes focused abruptly he immediately appeared to have snapped out of his earlier haziness. "_Elena_?"

"Wait, do I know…"

Smiling lazily, the stranger with the glimmering blue eyes shook his head. "I'm sorry. After I lost _her_, every girl looks like Elena to me. Again, I apologize," he said, raising his hands in the air and turned around to leave before Elena could say anything else to him.

_How does he know my name?_

It's the question she kept asking herself until she had reached school. Apart from his overwhelming presence that had left her heart racing madly after he left, there was something else about him. The sadness in his eyes. The lack of focus in them when he had looked at her, but apparently knew her name. And there was this otherworldly element to his very essence…

"Elena! Helloo?" Meredith snapped her fingers in front of Elena's face several times. Ripped out of her thoughts of the strange encounter she had made with that sad, dark haired young man just that very morning, Elena found herself sitting in the cafeteria with her two best friends, Meredith and Bonnie.

Bonnie, the more easy-going and bubbly girl of the three, was already for the lookout of possible candidates to pick out for the next dance.

Her more serious friend Meredith, on the other hand, was always aware of any strange behaviour amongst her friends. Observant and composed. The two best words to describe the olive-skinned beauty.

"Sorry. What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing because the only other person not drooling over boys keeps spacing out. What's wrong, Elena?"

The incident earlier had been so bizarre, no matter how many times she kept replaying it in her head, that she felt it wouldn't be right to share it with them. Plus, she wanted to be more mature this year, and not gush over some mysterious, dark stranger.

"Just stuff. Have you guys seen Matt anywhere?"

Meredith raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't about Matt," Bonnie accused Elena immediately. "You never behaved like this concerning him. Did something happen back in France?"

Not able to think of a better story, Elena replied, "Yes. And I'd rather it stays there. What about you guys? Anything strange happened to you lately?"

* * *

DAMON SALVATORE

Hallucinations of Elena had become as common the clouds that covered the sun, temporarily shadowing the world. Sometimes they talked to him. Sometimes it felt as if her scent was surrounding him, overwhelming him with the sweetness. And sometimes he would stroke her dark, soft hair. Or rather imagine himself doing so.

Today's hallucination was a bit odd though. Because usually, they all looked like the dark haired girl that had stolen Damon's heart and sanity, at times. But not this time. Same aura. Same determination. But different appearance.

"What tricks are you playing on me now, Elena? Haven't you caused me enough pain already?" Asked Damon, agonized by Elena's constant and illusory presence in his mind and pretty much what was left of his life.

"_Damon, please, you know I wouldn't do that. I just want you to get on with your life. You still have yours to live."_

Did he still want to live a life without her? Or was he alright with resorting to be surrounded by hundreds of Elenas?

She hadn't changed at all, since…that day. Determined to reason with him. To make him understand.

"Come here, Elena." He sat up from his lying position on the park bench. Up until imaginary Elena had showed up, he had peered into the sky, willing the brightness of it to blind him for good.

"_You're becoming self-destructive, Damon. What are you going to gain from it?"_

Damon groaned. She wasn't going to sit next to him. Instead, she'd lecture him on how to go on with his life without her. Classic Elena.

And destructive? Starving himself of human blood had made him feel closer to her as ever. And even gave him a glimpse of what it felt like to be more human again. Weak, emotional, and soft-hearted.

"Why did you lead me here, Elena?" Turned out that he didn't just walk around aimlessly. Because he wasn't alone when he had arrived to this little town, ironically called Mystic Falls too. He was going insane, wasn't he?

"_I'm not going to just hand you the answer over like that. Find out for yourself,"_ she replied, arms crossed and her expression stern.

The image of the light blond haired girl flashed his mind. He had to find out what the deal with her was. And if she was real or not.


	2. Chapter 2

TRANSPIRE - 2

* * *

ELENA GILBERT

Something did happen back in France. Elena had been her usual self before she left, until she had met a strange young man. The only reason Elena allowed herself to think about him, after the past few weeks she had spent trying to block him out, was that she had met a similarly strange young guy just yesterday.

An image of the dark haired and blue-eyed, sad stranger flashed in her mind.

_Stefan._

That had been the name of the damaged guy she met in France. Elena had been smitten the moment she met him, until of course, she found out that he was desperately mourning his dead ex-girlfriend. That was right before she left France, upset and embarrassed that she had spent an entire week with a young guy whom she thought liked her.

Weirdly enough, his ex-girlfriend's name was Elena too.

What the heck was going on?

"Hey Meredith."

Her best friend looked up from the Vogue magazine. "Yeah?"

"Remember the guy from France that I told you about?" Both Meredith and Bonnie had somehow managed to get the story out of Elena the other day. A whole week had passed since Elena had last seen the dark-haired young man. But the strange feeling had lingered even up until yesterday, forcing her to open up about France to her best friends.

They sensed that something was wrong, but were respectful enough to give her some time and space, until Elena had been ready to talk.

As they were gathered by the cemetery, Elena had started off by telling Bonnie and Meredith about the sad and handsome guy, who had been tagging along the group as they took a tour in Paris. He never talked or smiled, and just walked along with them.

After a while, Elena couldn't take it anymore and talked to him.

She had been initially interested him. And his sorrow had attracted her even more because she too had been trying to get away from it all. With her parent's death and his loss of a girlfriend, she thought that they'd make good companions.

But Elena had been wrong. He started off by being friendly and respectful, but had then Elena saw that he became stranger by day, and there was something dark and awful behind his demeanor.

She was glad that she was able to leave Stefan behind in France. He needed to stay there. Far from her.

"Yeah. Stefan Salvatore. Dashing, odd and sad stranger. What about him?"

Elena hesitated for a moment. Maybe, she shouldn't tell Meredith about the other dark-haired guy. For all she knew, they could have both just been a figment of her imagination.

"Uh, actually, never mind. I just miss him," replied Elena instead. "So, since I was too busy thinking about other stuff today, did you manage to catch a glimpse of Matt? I haven't seen him around today."

Looking up from the magazine again, Meredith patiently answered, "Yeah, I did see him. He was trying to get the other members of the football team to stop beating some drunk homeless guy or something."

Homeless guy? Elena didn't have a good feeling about this.

* * *

DAMON SALVATORE

"Stupid humans," muttered Damon, but then remembered that his dead Elena had been human, well and alive until she was sacrificed and killed by Klaus. The bastard ran off right afterwards and Damon had been trying to track him down the past two years until he just gave up. Well, not really. Damon was waiting for his emotionless-phase to kick in again, so that he would be properly focused on making Klaus suffer, and then slowly kill him, as mercilessly as possible.

Damon had been determined to find that girl. Was that blonde vixen another figment of his imagination? Did Elena find another way to torture his damned soul?

He had to find out.

But he didn't expect those foolish little boys to attack him. Damon wasn't that upset though. He'd pay them a visit soon and show them what real ass-kicking was like. Until then, he needed to find the blonde and talk to her.

About what?

Whatever could help him regain his sanity. He had been directed to her anyways by fate, or by Elena's ghost. He couldn't tell.

Walking through the old boarding house where Damon had managed to talk the old lady into letting him stay, he devised a little plan in his head. Maybe she was the key to finding his Elena. To get her back for good. And this time, when he was sure he had her again, Damon swore he'd keep her with him and make sure that she couldn't be touched by Klaus again. Damon would rip his throat out before Klaus could even attempt to say her name.

This version of another Mystic Falls seemed so strange and eerie. Nothing like the place he had once tracked his brother down and met Elena Gilbert, he noted.

Climbing up the stairs as swiftly as his weak body allowed him, Damon finally made it to his new bed room and walked towards the mirror.

"Too old to be a student, and too attractive to be a teacher," he noted as he inspected his pale face and blazing blue eyes. "I'm gonna have to talk to the football coach."

He wasn't too old for a coaching internship, or whatever they called it these days.

Although he didn't know if that was even an option, Damon decided to go through with his plan anyways. He could compel the entire team to eat their shoes if he wanted to.

Of course, he'd needed to feed first.

* * *

ELENA GILBERT

Another morning. Another chance to start off fresh. Two days had passed since the beginning of this school year, and she hadn't been one bit productive. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted so easily. This was, after all, a very important year for her. There was so much planning that needed to be done.

She couldn't help herself though. Choosing an outfit that complimented her thin frame well and letting her long blonde hair fall loose on her shoulders, Elena secretly hoped she'd run into him again. Despite the fact that he brought back some memories...

_"If you could erase all your pain in a split second, would you do it?"_

Elena was taken aback by that question. They were walking down the park, about 6 a.m. in Paris. Stefan had been knocking at the door of her hotel room much earlier than that and insisted that she should walk with him. He looked so handsome and distressed at that moment, but Elena hadn't known that Stefan was also on the verge of insanity.

_"What do you mean?"_ She asked frightened. Apart from being ripped out of her comfortable and much cherished sleep, his strange demeanor scared her even more.

"I mean that if you could turn your emotions off, would you do it?

She had thought for a second. Then remembered her parents. _"Yes, I would. At least then I wouldn't have to wake up every morning, feeling as if there is always something missing. And to have the pain of loss flooding back right after."_

At remembering the last event before she left France, Elena's stomach turned. Breathing deeply, she willed herself to leave the house already and to keep her mind clear. Stay focused, she told herself.

On her way to school, she almost expected to run into the dark-haired guy again, but today felt like a normal day in Mystic Falls again. It was a bit chilly outside, but the sun was shining again and birds were chirping. Sighing, she walked into her school and joined her group of friends.

"You're coming to watch the opening game, right?" Asked Bonnie hopeful, while jumping up and down.

Elena glanced over at the group of football players, chatting and pushing each other around cheerfully. Did she really have a choice?

The rest of her day passed in a bit of a drag. Considering that she had Math, Science, English and History in one semester, the football game sounded like a good idea. She'd have to call her aunt before the game started to let her know. Bonnie and Meredith met with Elena at the fields. It was still a bit chilly outside, but the entire school had crowded around the field and the excitement of the students was obvious.

"Wow, now that's one hot coach helper-guy," commented Bonnie, a little too loudly. Curious, Elena followed her gaze.

Her mouth dropped open.

It was the dark-haired guy she had run into the other day. Their eyes met briefly, and then Elena focused back on the group of football players. They appeared to look a little nervous.

Meredith who had left Elena and Bonnie for a moment, returned a little out of breath. She had run to Matt to wish him all the best from the three girls, since he refused to come anywhere near Elena.

"You won't believe what Matt just told me," started Meredith, still panting a little bit. "You guys see that guy over there?" She pointed at the coach's new assistant.

"Yeah, we noticed him way before you," said Bonnie, smiling sheepishly.

Elena studied him once more. He was still looking at the field, and every now and then he would nod to what the coach told him. There was significant improvement in him, since Elena had last seen him. His skin no longer looked so transparent and too pale, and he was dressed a bit more athletic. Not something she would've ever imagined a depressed college guy in all black and a leather jacket to wear.

What was he doing here?

"That is apparently the homeless guy they had beaten up."

Bonnie's mouth dropped. "Are you sure? There isn't a single bruise on him. He looks more like a rich European college guy."

"Yeah," answered Meredith quickly. "But Matt confirmed that this is him. He was there and got a better look at him than Bonnie and I did."

"What's his name?" Asked Elena, a bit dazed by the regular eye contact he kept making with her. She couldn't care less if he was a homeless guy or not. Although she had sworn she'd stop herself from acting all boy-crazy ever again, especially after meeting Stefan, Elena was now determined to get to know him. He wasn't necessarily her usual type, but the blue-eyed college guy was better than any boy in all of Mystic Falls.

"Damon."

Elena smiled at Meredith. Her best friend had completed the task before even having been asked. "Nice."

Looking Damon's direction again, her eyes met with his ocean blue eyes. This time though, he was smiling at her.


	3. Chapter 3

TRANSPIRE - 3

* * *

DAMON SALVATORE

Watching the young boys playing football made Damon feel a little weird. An old memory of him and his younger brother Stefan flashed in the corner of his mind. Katherine had entered the scene back when both brothers were still clueless humans.

But it was not the memory of Katherine that bothered Damon. It was the human ignorance and bliss he'd lived his life with. So careless, and the only pain he'd known was a black eye he'd receive after fights.

He almost envied these boys...

Almost.

After all, none of them had the prettiest girl in this entire town looking their direction. Her attention belonged to Damon. It made him feel so confident, but so nervous at the same time. She was too much like his Elena. Alive, of course, but there was something that made her exactly like the girl he had once met on a parking lot. A beautiful girl with hopes to find a love that would consume her.

The game was finally over. Pretending to be interested in watching them was quite annoying, but the gaze-exchanging between him and the angelic blonde was over too soon.

Gathering the extra football gear, Damon started to follow the coach, unitl he felt her presence, demanding his attention.

He turned around, smiling friendly. "Hey. Again."

Elena appeared to be a bit flustered for a moment, Damon noticed with joy. "Hi. We ran into each other the other day, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that again, Elena."

"How did you know my name?" She asked, the confusion apparent in her large blue eyes, though she was still smiling shyly at him.

Uh oh. How would he explain that? Remaining calm, he answered, "I didn't. You just reminded me of someone."

It seemed to be the wrong answer; Elena folded her arms and frowned deeply. The field was starting to clear up, and some of the students eyed them curiously. Especially the Matt-guy who had tried to stop the group of idiots kicking Damon while he was on the ground, suffering from withdrawal and hunger.

"Let me guess, I look like your ex-girlfriend, Elena," she said in a stern voice.

Surprised, Damon stared intensely into her eyes. How did she now? Elena hadn't really been his girlfriend, but with Stefan out of the scene, he would've most definitely been.

"How do you know about her?"

"I met a guy named Stefan in France who was exactly like you." Elena looked very unhappy. And Damon was furious now - his brother, of course, had discovered her before him. What kind of stories did he fill her head with? As far as Damon knew, Stefan was no longer himself anymore. After Elena's death, he shut down for a while, and then left Mystic Falls.

"That was my brother. We had been in love with the same girl. She died a while ago. We both had trouble dealing with it," he explained, his voice smooth and gentle, despite his anger.

Elena looked away for a moment. "So, does that mean that you were both interested in me just because I remind you of her?"

"What?" The word anger didn't justify what he felt at that moment. "What did my brother say to you?"

"He was being weird, mostly, but he'd follow me around and show up at my hotel room almost every morning."

Damon exhaled. This wasn't very Stefan. And considering how emotionally unstable he was, Damon was glad that she was back in Mystic Falls, where Damon would now be able to keep an eye on her.

The field was almost empty, apart from Elena's two friends, a tall dark-haired girl and a short red-head. The wind blew strands of Elena's blonde face into her face. Damon gently took a strand and tucked it carefully her behind her ear.

Elena's eyes largened, but she didn't say anything. Damon had always been very forward, and he certainly wasn't going to stop now.

"I know that it seems that way, but I want to get to know you and find out how much you're not like that Elena. I'm a very selfish person, and ever that day that I ran into you, I started feeling better. Getting over...it, isn't easy."

Honesty seemed to work well on her. Smiling, Elena gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned around to join her friends.

"See you tomorrow, Damon," she said, turning to face him one last time before walking off.

"See you tomorrow," replied Damon, a little stunned from the kiss.

* * *

ELENA GILBERT

If what she felt wasn't falling, then Elena didn't know how to describe this feeling. Elevated and floating. Her heart was soaring towards the sky. Was it possible that Damon was the one she'd been searching for?

Lying on her bed, she replayed every moment she had spent talking to Damon Salvatore so far. He was nothing like his brother, _Stefan_.

Elena glanced at the textbooks piled on her desk and frowned. Homework was the last thing she wanted to worry about, but she couldn't spend the rest of the day longing for him. It drove her nuts, not being able to see him and talk to him, but maybe focusing on Math would help her get through this day until she'd see him again.

Once she made it halfway through her the math questions she'd get stuck in every now and then, her eyelids became heavier and she dozed off.

"Wake up, Elena."

Startled, she sat up and looked around disoriented. Her window was open, and the room darkened from the night. Her only source of light came from the lone moon, shining brightly from afar.

But she'd recognized that voice. "Stefan."

Her heart was beating fast. How the heck did he get here? Was she dreaming? Another nightmare about him?

"Yes, it's me." He walked towards her slowly, one side of his face lit by the moon's light. There was a menacing smile playing on his face.

"What do you want?" Asked Elena, teeth gritting.

Leaning in, he inhaled the scent of her blood. She didn't understand how she knew it, but there was something really wrong with Stefan. She could feel something sharp pressing into her neck.

"Time to wake up," said Stefan, facing her again and gazing into her eyes. Elena was confused for a moment, until...

WAM!

This time, Elena woke up for real. But it wasn't dark out. It was bright out, and Elena was lying in her bed. She couldn't remember how she had gotten there, but she supposed that she must've crawled into her bed at one point at night. It had been one of the longest naps she'd ever taken. More than twelve hours, to be precise, but she still felt restless.

Her dreams had been crazy last night. It wasn't the first time she'd dreamt about him since he was back. No. At least once a week or so, she'd have a nightmare. Elena had been trying to block him out of her thoughts.

It was as if Stefan no longer had anymore emotions. He was like a psychopath now. And he kept coming after her. What the heck did he want from her?

Elena finally climbed out of her bed and walked towards the window. Someone had been throwing rocks at her window. Matt.

Opening the window confused, she wondered what had made him show up by her backyard after all those weeks of ignoring her.

"Matt? What are you doing here?" She called out.

"Hey, you realize that school is going to start in fifeteen minutes?"

Elena looked at the clock hanging above her desk. _Shoot_. "I'll be down soon!"

She was about to walk away from the window, until she realized something. "Wait, why are you here?" Matt had been mad at her for breaking up with him. Something had to be up.

"Damon wants to talk to you today at lunch time during football practice. He asked me to tell you that."


End file.
